Fuel tank inerting system and method

ABSTRACT

A fuel tank inerting system for an aircraft, the system comprises a catalytic heat exchanger comprising a first flow path and a second flow path for heat exchange with the first flow path. The system further comprises a first inlet arranged upstream of the first flow path of the catalytic heat exchanger for providing a mixture of fuel vapour and oxygen to the first flow path for sustaining a catalysed reaction, and a second inlet arranged upstream of the second flow path for providing a flow of fuel to the second flow path of the catalytic heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the first flow path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/006,988, filed Jun. 13, 2018 which claims priority to European PatentApplication No. 17175688.5 filed Jun. 13, 2017, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a fuel tank inerting system for an aircraft,particularly to a fuel tank inerting system comprising a catalytic heatconverter.

BACKGROUND

Fuel tank inerting systems (also called flammability reduction systems)are used on most commercial aircraft. They are used to provide an inertatmosphere to the ullage or header of a fuel tank in order to reduce therisk of fuel combustion and explosion.

Typically they employ air separation membrane technology. However, suchknown systems degrade over time and require significant levels of costlymaintenance. An alternative system is a catalyst based fuel tankinerting system, where bleed-air-fed air separation modules and filterelements are replaced by a catalyst. Such a system requires fuel vapourto be mixed with oxygen and passed through a catalyst device to beconverted into carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O). Due to significanttemperatures that are generated during the catalyst's exothermicreaction the catalyst needs to be cooled. Hence the catalyst may beprovided as a coating inside a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger may becooled by e.g. ram air.

However, in use such heat exchangers face issues because differentamounts of cooling are available during different stages of flight. Forexample, operating conditions on the ground are different to those atcruise. Ram air at cruise can have a temperature of −40° F. (−40° C.),whereas on the ground in hot climates it can have a temperature as muchas +130° F. (50° C.). The catalysed reaction of fuel and oxygen in theheat exchanger must be kept at a minimum of 350° F. (180° C.) in orderto keep the catalyst ‘lit’ (i.e. reacting) and the catalysed reactionactive. A heat exchanger sized so that it achieves a maximum temperatureof 425° F. (220° C.) on the ground will produce warmed ram air of 1600°F. (870° C.) during cruise, far in excess of the necessary temperatures.Making a heat exchanger small in order to avoid such high cruisetemperatures results in too high ground temperatures. Thus, it isnecessary to compromise and use a heat exchanger that is non-optimal forall conditions.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided afuel tank inerting system for an aircraft, the system comprising: acatalytic heat exchanger comprising a first flow path and a second flowpath in heat exchange with the first flow path; a first inlet arrangedupstream of the first flow path of the catalytic heat exchanger forproviding a mixture of fuel vapour and oxygen to the first flow path forsustaining a catalysed reaction; a second inlet arranged upstream of thesecond flow path for providing a flow of fuel to the second flow path ofthe catalytic heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the first flowpath.

Thus, the system is arranged such that during use (e.g. flight) fuelpasses from the second inlet into the second flow path and exchangesheat with the first flow path to maintain the temperature of thecatalysed reaction of fuel vapour and oxygen at or near a predeterminedtemperature. Fuel may be less susceptible to variations in temperaturethan is air. The fuel supplied to the second flow path may have aconsistent temperature. Hence better control over the temperature of theheat exchanger may be provided.

The catalytic heat exchanger comprises a catalyst in the first flow pathfor catalysing a reaction of fuel vapour and oxygen. The reaction maycreate water and carbon dioxide. Fuel vapour may be mixed with oxygenrich air upstream of the first flow path and supplied to the first flowpath at a desired rate and in a desired ratio so as to sustain thecatalytic reaction as required. The catalyst may be provided as acoating on the interior of the first flow path, or may be provided inany suitable way to catalyse the reaction of fuel and oxygen passingthrough the first flow path.

The output of the catalysed reaction and the catalytic heat exchangermay be substantially a mixture of water and carbon dioxide and may besupplied to the ullage of a fuel tank in order to provide an inertatmosphere therein to reduce the risk of combustion or explosion of thefuel. Water exiting the catalytic heat exchanger may be in a gas phaseand may be supplied to a condenser to condense it to liquid. The watermay then be separated from the carbon dioxide by any suitable means. Thesystem may be arranged so that only carbon dioxide is supplied in to thefuel tank from the catalytic heat exchanger. By supplying carbon dioxideand hence maintaining a positive pressure in the fuel tank, the systemmay further serve to help prevent ingress of water into the fuel tankfrom outside sources. Ingress of water into a fuel system may lead to anincreased risk of ice formation in the fuel during cold conditionsand/or high altitude operation.

The first and second inlets may be part of the catalytic heat exchanger.During use, fuel exiting the second flow path may be provided to thefirst inlet so that it then undergoes the catalysed reaction. The secondflow path may be arranged to provide fuel to the first flow path.

The system may comprise a fuel conditioner upstream of the second inletfor controlling the temperature of the fuel entering the second flowpath of the catalytic heat exchanger. The fuel conditioner may befuel/oil cooler. Thus, temperature controlled fuel (i.e. fuel with atemperature that has been influenced to predetermined extent) may besupplied to the second flow path of the catalytic heat exchanger, andconsequently the temperature of the heat exchanger—and hence thetemperature of the catalyst and catalytic reaction—may be controlled(e.g. influenced, maintained, increased or reduced).

The fuel conditioner may be arranged to receive fuel from a fuel tankand to condition the fuel to a desired temperature by bringing it intoheat exchange with a flow of oil. The fuel entering the fuel conditionermay be colder than needed, and the fuel conditioner may be arranged toheat the fuel passing therethrough to a predetermined temperature beforebeing supplied to the catalytic heat exchanger. The catalytic reactionmay be exothermic and may need to be cooled by the fuel in the secondflow path. Thus, the fuel conditioner may heat the fuel prior tosupplying it to the second flow path but may be arranged not to heat thefuel to a temperature greater than that of the catalytic reaction, sothat the catalytic reaction may always be cooled by the fuel in thesecond flow path.

The system may comprise a temperature controlled valve upstream of thesecond inlet for controlling the rate of flow of fuel to the secondinlet. Where a fuel conditioner is included in the system, thetemperature controlled valve may be downstream thereof and arranged toreceive fuel therefrom. Hence the temperature controlled valve may bedisposed between the fuel conditioner and the second flow path and maycontrol the flow of fuel therebetween.

The temperature controlled valve may be arranged to divert fuel so as tobypass the catalytic heat exchanger. The temperature controlled valvemay be controlled based on the temperature of the catalytic reaction orthe heat exchanger. The temperature controlled valve may thereforecontrol the rate of fuel flow into the second flow path of the catalyticheat exchanger in order to control the temperature thereof. The systemmay comprise a bypass line arranged to receive fuel from the temperaturecontrolled valve to bypass the heat exchanger and may combine bypassedfuel with fuel exiting the second flow path. The temperature controlledvalve may be arranged to divert all or only a portion of the flowpassing through it. The valve may be arranged so that it does not bypassany fuel. The valve may be an electromechanical valve.

The temperature controlled valve may be configured such that fuel isdiverted to bypass the second flow path when the catalyst is less than apredetermined temperature. Diverting fuel in such a case reduces coolingof the catalyst. The valve may be configured to divert only a portion ofthe fuel when the catalyst is approximately at the predeterminedtemperature. In this case the temperature of the catalyst may bemaintained. The valve may divert any necessary proportion of fuel toprovide a range of control. The valve may be configured to not divertany fuel when the temperature of the catalyst is above the predeterminedtemperature, thereby increasing cooling of the catalyst.

The system may be arranged so that the temperature of the fuel exitingthe fuel conditioner is adjustable and controllable. Thus, thetemperature of the heat exchanger may be controlled by controlling thetemperature of fuel entering the second flow path, as well as bydiverting fuel to bypass the second flow path.

The system may be arranged so that in use fuel exiting the second flowpath has been vaporised. The system may be arranged to vapourise anyliquid fuel leaving the second flow path. The system may be arranged tosupply fuel leaving the second flow path to the first inlet of catalyticheat exchanger. The system may comprise a heating element downstream ofthe second flow path for vapourising liquid fuel from the second flowpath. The vapourised fuel may be combined with oxygen or oxygen rich airand supplied to the first flow path to undergo the catalysed reaction.Fuel leaving the second flow path will have been heated by cooling thecatalytic reaction and hence will either already be vapourised, or willrequire less energy to vapourise.

The system may be arranged such that the fuel firstly passes through thesecond flow path to maintain the temperature of the catalyst, and thenpasses through the first flow path to undergo the catalysed reaction tomaintain an inert temperature in the fuel tank.

The system may be arranged such that all fuel supplied to the firstinlet of the catalytic heat exchanger in use will first have passedthrough the second flow path. Thus all fuel reaching the first inletduring use will have already passed through the catalytic heat exchangervia the second flow path. The system may be arranged such that no otherfuel is supplied to the first flow path i.e. only fuel which has beenthrough the second flow path is supplied to the first flow path.

The system may be arranged such that all fuel which passes through thesecond flow path is supplied to first flow path. When the systemcomprises a temperature controlled valve as described above, the systemmay be arranged so that all fuel which passes though the temperaturecontrolled valve is supplied to the first flow path. The valve may bearranged so that it supplies all fuel passing therethrough to only thesecond flow path and the bypass.

The system may comprise a fuel tank and the fuel conditioner may bearranged in use to receive fuel from the fuel tank. Then, all fuel beingused in the catalytic reaction may have come from the fuel tank via thefuel conditioner and the temperature controlled valve.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda method of inerting a fuel tank comprising: using a catalytic heatexchanger to perform a catalysed reaction of fuel and oxygen to create asupply of water and carbon dioxide; controlling the temperature of thecatalytic reaction by heat exchange with temperature controlled fuel inthe catalytic heat exchanger; providing the supply of water and carbondioxide to the fuel tank.

Preferably the supply of water and carbon dioxide is provided to theullage of the fuel tank to create an inert atmosphere therein forreducing the risk of combustion and/or explosion of fuel in the tank.

The method may comprise heating and/or cooling fuel before passing thetemperature controlled fuel to the heat exchanger. The method maycomprise using a fuel conditioner to control the temperature of the fuelprior to supply of that fuel to the second flow path of the catalyticheat exchanger so as to control the temperature of the catalyst in theheat exchanger.

The method may comprise using a temperature controlled valve to controlthe flow of temperature controlled fuel entering the heat exchanger. Themethod may comprise controlling the flow and rate of fuel entering thesecond flow path of the heat exchanger using the valve so as to controlthe temperature thereof.

The method may comprise diverting fuel to bypass the heat exchanger inorder to control the rate of fuel supplied to the second flow path andhence control cooling of the heat exchanger. The method may furthercomprise recombining the diverted fuel with fuel exiting the second flowpath.

The method may comprise diverting fuel when the temperature of thecatalyst is below a predetermined temperature in order to reduce coolingthereof. The method may comprise diverting only a portion of fuel whenthe temperature of the catalyst is at or near the predeterminedtemperature in order to maintain a temperature of the catalyst. Themethod may comprise not diverting any fuel when the catalyst is above apredetermined temperature. Thus, the method may comprise controlling thetemperature of the catalyst using a temperature controlled valve, andmay comprise controlling the temperature controlled valve based on thetemperature of the catalyst. The method may include maintaining thetemperature of the catalyst by not diverting fuel, and/or may comprisemaintaining the temperature of the catalyst by diverting fuel. Themethod may comprise diverting fuel as necessary to control thetemperature of the catalyst.

The method may comprise controlling the temperature of the catalyst bycontrolling the temperature of the fuel entering the second flow path.The method may comprise controlling the temperature of the catalyst onlyby controlling the temperature of the fuel entering the second flowpath. The method may comprise controlling the temperature of the fuelentering the second flow path and controlling the rate of flow of fuelentering the second flow path.

The method may comprise reacting in the catalytic reaction fuel that hasbeen in heat exchange with the reaction. The method may comprisereacting in the catalytic reaction only fuel that has previously been inheat exchange with in the reaction. Thus, the method may comprisesupplying fuel which has been heated in the second flow path to thefirst flow path.

If the system comprises a temperature controlled valve, the method maycomprise supplying to the first flow path all fuel that has passedthrough the temperature controlled valve.

The method may comprise using a fuel inerting system as described abovein relation to any of the embodiments of the first aspect. The methodmay comprise providing means for or arranging the fuel inerting systemto carry out any and all of the features described in relation to thefirst aspect.

References to upstream and downstream are intended to reference the flowdirection of fuel and/or other fluids during use of the system.References to the features of the system performing actions may beunderstood as meaning that the system is arranged in use so as toperform those actions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described by way ofexample only and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a fuel inerting system comprising a catalytic heatexchanger; and

FIG. 2 shows another fuel inerting system comprising a catalytic heatexchanger.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 show a fuel inerting system 100 comprising a catalytic heatexchanger 110 comprising a first and second flow path. A first inlet 112is arranged upstream of the first flow path, and a second inlet 114 isarranged upstream of the second flow path. Fuel vapour and oxygen flowalong line 150 into the catalytic heat exchanger 110, through the firstinlet 112 and into the first flow path

A catalyst is disposed in the first flow path and during use the fueland oxygen flowing into the first flow path undergo a catalysed reactionto create water and carbon dioxide. The water and carbon dioxide flowsout of the first flow path via line 152, and is supplied to the ullageof a fuel tank. The catalyst has a temperature Tc.

During use, fuel flows from line 160 though the second inlet 114 intothe second flow path of the heat exchanger 110. In the second flow paththe fuel is in heat exchange with the first flow path and thus affectsthe temperature of the catalyst and catalysed reaction. The fuel isheated in the second flow path and exits the heat exchanger through line162. Fuel entering the second flow path is at a temperature T_(F2), andfuel exiting the second flow path is at a temperature T_(F3).

A line 146 supplies oxygen rich air and combines with a flow of fuelvapour from another line 148 at junction 145 in order to supply amixture of fuel and oxygen for the catalysed reaction. The ratio offlows of oxygen and fuel vapour at junction 145 may be controlled toprovide the desired mixture to the heat exchanger.

A fuel conditioner 180 is disposed upstream of the second inlet 114 andis arranged to provide fuel thereto via the line 160. The fuelconditioner is arranged to receive fuel from a line 164 and pass thatfuel into heat exchange with oil flowing from line 182 to 184. Fuelentering the fuel conditioner is at a temperature T_(F1), and the fuelleaving the fuel conditioner is at a temperature T_(F2). Thus,temperature controlled fuel is provided to the second flow path of thecatalytic heat exchanger via line 160 and second inlet 114.

A temperature controlled valve 130 is disposed in line 160 and controlsthe flow of fuel therethrough, thereby controlling the flow oftemperature controlled fuel to the second flow path and hencecontrolling the cooling of the catalytic reaction.

The fuel inerting system of FIG. 1 may therefore be used to control thetemperature of the catalytic reaction in the fuel inerting system toensure a continuous supply inert atmosphere to the fuel tank.

FIG. 2 shows a fuel inerting system similar to that of FIG. 1. The line162 of fuel leaving the second flow path of the heat exchanger 110 isarranged to pass fuel to line 148 for supplying fuel vapour to the firstinlet 112. Fuel leaving the second flow path during use is heated to atemperature T_(F3) and may be vapourised or partially vapourised. Thisfuel vapour may then be combined with oxygen rich air at junction 145and supplied to the first inlet 112 for feeding the catalytic reaction.A heating element 134 is provided on line 162 and is used as necessaryto convert liquid fuel to fuel vapour.

A bypass line 136 is disposed to receive a bypass flow of fuel from thetemperature controlled valve 130. The temperature controlled valve iscontrolled based upon the temperature of the catalyst and is configuredto bypass fuel from the second flow path as necessary to achieve thedesired temperature in the heat exchanger. Bypassed fuel is combinedwith the flow exiting the second flow path and at valve 132. The heatingelement 132 may vapourise the recombined fuel as required.

The fuel inerting system 100 may therefore be used to control thetemperature of the catalytic reaction. The heat necessary for formingthe fuel vapour for the reaction is generated from the cooling of thereaction, thereby improving efficiency of the system.

1. A method of inerting a fuel tank comprising: using a catalytic heat exchanger to perform a catalysed reaction of fuel and oxygen to create a supply of water and carbon dioxide; controlling the temperature of the catalytic reaction by heat exchange with temperature controlled fuel in the catalytic heat exchanger; and providing the supply of water and carbon dioxide to the fuel tank.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: heating and/or cooling fuel before passing the temperature controlled fuel to the heat exchanger.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: using a temperature controlled valve to control the flow of temperature controlled fuel entering the heat exchanger.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, comprising reacting in the catalytic reaction fuel that has previously been in heat exchange with the reaction.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 4, comprising reacting in the catalytic reaction only fuel that has previously been in heat exchange with the reaction.
 6. A method of inerting a fuel tank in a system that includes a catalytic heat exchanger comprising a first flow path and a second flow path for heat exchange with the first flow path, a first inlet arranged upstream of the first flow path of the catalytic heat exchanger for providing a mixture of fuel vapour and oxygen to the first flow path for sustaining a catalysed reaction, a second inlet arranged upstream of the second flow path for providing a flow of fuel to the second flow path of the catalytic heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the first flow path, the method comprising: using the catalytic heat exchanger to perform a catalysed reaction of fuel from the fuel tank and oxygen to create a supply of water and carbon dioxide; controlling the temperature of the catalytic reaction by heat exchange with temperature controlled fuel in the catalytic heat exchanger; and providing the supply of water and carbon dioxide to the fuel tank.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising: heating and/or cooling fuel before passing the temperature controlled fuel to the heat exchanger.
 8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising: using a temperature controlled valve to control the flow of temperature controlled fuel entering the heat exchanger.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising: reacting in the catalytic reaction fuel that has previously been in heat exchange with the reaction.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising: reacting in the catalytic reaction only fuel that has previously been in heat exchange with the reaction. 